A Gift for San Francisco Listing Agents

The San Francisco MLS just implemented a new feature called "on market date".  This feature allows you to enter the listing into the MLS as soon as it's signed but set the "on market date" for sometime in the future.  Until that future date is reached, the listing can only be seen by the listing agent.  In the meantime, you can set brokers tour and open house dates and you can upload your photos.  Days-on-market (DOM) doesn't start counting until the "on market date" is reached.  If necessary, you can always extend the "on market date".

Quoting:

When entering a listing, users should put the true listing date in the MLS as the list date, and then indicate which date the property should be available as On-Market. The On-Market Date represents the date that the listing will be available on the MLS for listing searches. Prior to this date, the listing will only display to the listing owner(s). The On-Market Date can be updated at any time prior to the property going On-Market. 

This new feature will allow listing owners to upload photos and add open houses and tours in advance of the property being made available for other users to see.  Also, system reports have been updated to reflect both the List Date and the On-Market Date.  Days on Market (DOM) will be calculated using the new On-Market Date.